A new book has captured the essence of Sussex football.

A Season Of Sussex Soccer, a collaboration by David Bauckham and Terry Buckman, is a world away from the ghost-written selective memoirs of Premier League players.

Bauckham and Buckman have criss-crossed the county and beyond to capture the atmosphere at 62 clubs, from Brighton and Hove Albion in League One to Uckfield Town in Sussex County League division three.

Featuring 105 photographs and a month-by-month round-up of the football scene in the county, the book has been a labour of love for the duo and represents the fruition of a long-time ambition for Bauckham.

They have clocked up countless miles to see the good, bad and sometimes ugly which non-league football offers in all kinds of weather but Bauckham happily embraced the challenge.

Bauckham, who used to run Eastbourne Borough's website and was the matchday announcer, said: "It has been something I have been mulling over for a long time. But I had become so involved with Borough and doing the website for six years that it was never going to happen until I extricated myself from my jobs there.

"I contacted Terry, who had retired to the area and he had gained a reputation for taking pictures of local football that he put on his website.

"I was in the east and he was in the west and there was no way I could do it all on my own. He welcomed the opportunity and has been brilliant. I could not have done it without him.

"I chose this season because I had a feeling it could be something special.

"That wasn't so much because I expected the ding-dong battle between Lewes and Eastbourne Borough but because I could see there was ambition in the County League with clubs looking to go up and do work on their grounds.

"I don't think we could have picked a better season. The County League was maybe a little less interesting as it looked like Crowborough would win it for a long time but there was the battle between Borough and Lewes, Crowborough going up, the Majeeds at Crawley and also, sadly, a few deaths.

"The last photo was Eastbourne Borough getting promotion which was especially good for me."

Even if Borough and Lewes had not achieved their success, Bauckham insists the book's purpose would have been served.

He said: "People have said why isn't it called A Season Of Sussex Soccer 2007-08? But that's not the point of the book.

"It is supposed to be a snapshot of football in Sussex but could be any part of the United Kingdom. It is trying to capture the essence of local football."

"We had different styles as photographers. Terry was more known for taking traditional action while I often took more atmospheric shots.

"I am more interested in the culture of football and the setting of the game but as time went on I got better at action shots and Terry got better at the artistic pictures. I would hope now that if we took the credits off the pictures, nobody would know who took what."

Bauckham and Buckman would take up to 200 photos at each game they went to before finally settling on one for the book.

They would also cover more than one game in a day when kick-offs were staggered. Bauckham went to a half at Peacehaven, Rottingdean and also Seaford on one occasion.

Bauckham felt no publisher would have touched the book because it was too parochial and raised funds through pre-orders.

He is hopeful that players and non-league fans will support the book when it is published on Friday.

Bauckham said: "I got about 200 pre-orders, with a lot from club officials and non-league enthusiasts, but I am disappointed that more players have not ordered it.

"I get the feeling that people are waiting to see it before they buy. It will either bomb or become a cult seller."

  • The book will be launched at the Sussex County League annual dinner on June 6 and will be available via my Centre Circle Publishing website, priced £12.50 + £2.50 postage. Alternatively, anyone wishing to purchase a copy can send a cheque for £15 made payable to Centre Circle Publishing to PO Box 2923, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN20 8WG.